User interface for an information processing system, with job monitoring

ABSTRACT

In an information processing system including workstations and printers interconnected by a network, current collective status information of a set of print jobs of a user is displayed permanently in icon form on the screen of the workstation of the user. The status is presented as one of three possible states: (1) active: there is still at least one print job of the set not ready; (2) passive: all the jobs of the set are ready, or the set is empty; or (3) error: a job of the set has caused an error in the printer. The set can include all the print jobs of a user, or a selection thereof. In response to a double mouse click on an icon, extensive information concerning the print jobs of the set to which the icon relates is displayed. As an alternative to permanent presentation in icon form, presentation can also be in the form of messages on the screen at the user&#39;s workstation when the status of the set changes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field of the Invention

The invention relates to an information processing system withworkstations and printers interconnected by a network, and morespecifically to a user interface for the communication process between aworkstation and the printers, whereby the status of the print jobs canbe monitored.

2. Description of Related Art

A user can obtain the status of print jobs in a conventional informationprocessing system by inspecting the print queue. For this purpose, theprinter application has to be called up and this then displays thecomplete queue of print jobs still waiting. This is inconvenient if auser wishes to be permanently informed of the state of his print jobs,while he is occupied with other work at his workstation.

It is therefore desirable to offer a mechanism whereby a user can obtainadequate information concerning the status of his print jobs at hisworkstation screen, without other work being interfered with. It is alsodesirable for the status information to be displayed in compact form.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a solution to these problems, by providing aworkstation with a program personalised for a specific user forcommunication with a printer for sending print jobs to said printer andcalling up or receiving status information from the printer. The programof invention includes the following processes:

-   -   collecting information concerning the status of print jobs of        the user from at least one printer    -   maintaining an actualised overview of the print jobs of the        user, and    -   displaying on the workstation screen the current collective        status of a predetermined set of print jobs of the user.

Since the status is displayed for a set of print jobs simultaneously,the user can nevertheless have an impression of how his jobs areprogressing, particularly when he can go to the printer in order tofetch his prints.

The collective status recognises a number of possible states, a firstmode in which at least one job has not yet been finished, a second inwhich all the jobs of the set have been finished or in which the setcontains no jobs whatsoever, and a third in which one of the print jobsof the user has caused an error in the printer.

The set can contain all the print jobs of the user, or alternatively aselection thereof, made up by the user himself. The set can also belimited to all, or to a selection of all, the print jobs of the userpresent in a specific printer.

The status information is dynamic, both in that new print jobs can beadded to the monitored set and in that the presented status isactualised, i.e. always revised in the event of changes in the status.

In one embodiment of the invention, in the event that the collectivestatus of a set of print jobs is presented as being of the first state,the number of print jobs that have not yet been carried out is alsopresented on the workstation screen.

Further scope of applicability of the present invention will becomeapparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, itshould be understood that the detailed description and specificexamples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, aregiven by way of illustration only, since various changes andmodifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from thedetailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawingswhich are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitativeof the present invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1 shows an information-processing system in which the invention issituated;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic overview of the software according to theinvention; and

FIGS. 3 to 13 show information windows displayed by the softwareaccording to the invention on the workstation screen.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows a system of workstations WS and printers PR connected by alocal network N. The workstations are, for example, PC's and are in eachcase equipped with a processing unit, a screen, a keyboard and a mouse.The printers are digital copying machines, each including a scanner, aprinter, an operator control unit and a connection unit (Digital AccessController or DAC) for connection to the network and processing printjobs sent from the workstations. In addition, it is possible to usemachines which only have a printer function but also have a controlsystem adapted to the functionality described hereinafter. All thesemachines, copying machines and printers, are hereinafter referred to as“printer”. Users wishing to have a specific data file printed from theirworkstation, can for the purpose choose from a number of, or even all,the printers of the system.

For the purpose of communication with the printers and the presentationof information relating thereto to the users, there is operative in eachconnected workstation a program which is hereinafter referred to as“desktop software”. This program is personalised, i.e., it works on theinstructions of just one user who on starting up has identified himselfand input his authorisation code.

The desktop software, hereinafter also referred to as “desktop” forshort, is built up from a number of sub-programs diagrammaticallyillustrated in block 100 in FIG. 2. The core of the desktop software isformed by a sub-program indicated by “virtual printer”, whichcommunicates with the connected printers and updates the properties andstatus of each of these insofar as this is of interest to theworkstation user.

As will be explained in the following description, a user can choose howmuch information he wants to have presented concerning the state ofconnected printers and the printing files to be processed thereon and atwhat time. The exchange of data concerning these matters between thedesktop software and the printers is limited to what is essential forthe user's requirements. This prevents the network from being loadedmore than is necessary and, in addition, the processing capacity of theworkstation is not loaded more than necessary, since only the relevantinformation is present in the workstation and has to be processed.

The “virtual printer” program is provided with an operator controlprogram, hereinafter referred to as “user interface” (UI), whichcontrols the communication between the user and the desktop software ina manner understandable to the user, in the form of key strokes on thekeyboard and windows on the screen, in which windows information ispresented and in which the user can select and control the operation ofelements via mouse movements. The desktop software is also provided witha communication program COM for controlling data transport from and tothe printers via the network.

Block 200 in FIG. 2 gives a diagrammatic illustration of thecommunication software in the DACs of the printers. This is formedparticularly by an “information server” IS, which is intended to receivefrom and send to workstations digital information such as statusinformation concerning the printer itself and the print jobs that theprinter is processing. The information server updates data concerningthe information required by each desktop and transmits only thatinformation which is really required, and at the time at which it isrequired. The information server is also provided with a communicationprogram COM for controlling data transport from and to the desktops viathe network.

Files of digital data which are transmitted to a printer via the networkfor printing by the printer are either of a first or a second type.Files of the first type, hereinafter referred to as automatic printjobs, are required to be printed directly, i.e. without further actionby an operator at the printer, while files of the second type,hereinafter referred to as interactive print jobs, must only be storedin the printer memory and must not be printed until an operator at theprinter explicitly so requests there by selection with the aid of theoperator control means. An attribute added to the file shows the type offile involved.

Processing of a data file of the first type is referred to in thisdescription as automatic printing (AP).

Processing of a data file of the second type is hereinafter referred toas interactive printing (IP). The procedure with this is as follows.

A data file for printing by interactive printing and transmitted by aworkstation via the network is received by the DAC. This extracts fromthe file a number of predetermined identification data, such as the nameof the owner and the name of the file itself. The file is then storedunchanged on a storage unit, e.g. a hard disk, in the printer,whereafter the machine passes to the stand-by state in respect of thisjob.

The DAC manages an administration system containing the identificationdata of all the data files for printing which are stored. If a new fileis supplied via the network, the DAC adds the identification datathereof in the name of the owner/sender to the administration system.

The disk together with the said administration system of the DAC form,as it were, a set of “logic storage spaces” for data files, each logicstorage space being allocated to one user. Thus in actual fact storagein a user's logic storage space means that the file is stored on thedisk and registered in the administration system in the name of thatuser. A logic storage space can be protected by a code specific to theowner/user, i.e. in practice an operator can obtain information over thefiles stored in a specific logic storage space only after he has inputthis code via the operator control means of the printer.

If an operator now wishes to have a specific interactive print fileprinted, then he must select that file by means of the printer operatorcontrol panel and give a print command by actuating a start key. Inresponse thereto the data file is brought up from the disk and convertedto printable data, which are processed by the printer to form a print.An interactive print file can be protected by the sender by means of acode. This code is in the form of an attribute to the print file. If auser wishes to print this file interactively, he must key in thesecurity code at the operator control panel before the file is printed.

When a data file has been interactively printed, it remains in principlestored on the disk and registered in the administration system until itis removed by the user himself or by the printer manager.

The printer manager can bring the machine into a mode in which automaticprint jobs are not accepted. In that case, incoming automatic print jobsare converted by the printer into interactive print jobs and stored onthe disk.

As already stated, at least a number of the printers in this system arein fact digital copying machines, which can also make a copy of anoriginal document by scanning it and printing the digital image datagenerated thereby.

There are therefore jobs which are started by a user at the machineitself (copy jobs and interactive print jobs) and jobs which are fedfrom a distance, e.g. from a workstation (PC) (an automatic print job).In the former case, the printer operates in a command-controlled mode inwhich the machine starts a reproduction process in response to a startcommand from the operator control panel, while in the latter case itoperates in an autonomous mode in which the machine starts areproduction process on its own initiative.

A user who has gone to the machine in order to start a job there bymeans of the keys finds it very frustrating if a remote-startedautomatic print job begins just before he wants to start his job. Hethen has to wait until the remote-started job is finished, or he must atleast interrupt that job by means of an “interrupt” mechanism, before hecan make his copy. This frequently occurs in practice, particularly at amachine which is frequently used, and results in annoyance and delay.

In order to protect the position of the user at the machine as much aspossible, the machine passes into the command-controlled mode inresponse to a physical interaction by an operator at the machine, and/orremains there for a predetermined first waiting period. During thiswaiting period, the machine cannot pass into the autonomous mode. Thisoffers the user at the machine the opportunity of creating, by anyinteraction, e.g. by actuating a key or placing one or more documents inthe machine feed tray, time for himself in order to start his jobunhurriedly.

In addition, on completion of the execution of a job in thecommand-controlled mode, the machine remains in the command-controlledmode for a predetermined second waiting time.

Thus if the user wishes to process further copying or interactive printjobs, he will not be overtaken by an automatic print job. Also duringthe second waiting period, the machine cannot pass to the autonomousmode. The second waiting period can be equal to the first. A practicalvalue for waiting periods is, for example, 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

The above-mentioned desktop software will now be described further.

The desktop software includes the following modules:

-   -   An overview of all available connected printers with an        indication of their status (hereinafter referred to as: Devices        Overview)    -   An overview of current print jobs with the possibility of        intervening in the settings for each job (hereinafter referred        to as: Job Control)    -   Information provision concerning the progress of current print        jobs (hereinafter referred to as: Job Monitoring).

The mode information presented by the three modules of the desktopsoftware is dynamic, i.e. it is adapted directly as soon as there is anychange in the presented mode.

It should again be noted that the desktop software is personalised andthat the information provision and control possibilities are thereforedirected towards the wishes of one specific user.

The three program modules referred to can be started from a generalstart menu which appears when the desktop software is selected on theworkstation screen, and will now be described in sequence.

FIG. 3 shows a window 10 which is displayed on the workstation screenafter the user has selected the option “Devices Overview” in the desktopsoftware. This window displays for each printer a symbol indicating thestatus of that printer. Examples of this are shown in FIG. 3. Inaddition, each symbol has a short description of the printer so that itis clear which printer is involved.

A first symbol 11 is a stylised illustration of the printer. This symbolindicates that the printer in question is available for print jobs andis at the moment idle. A second symbol 12 shows the printer with a stackof papers over it and indicates that this machine is occupied with anautomatic print job in the autonomous mode. Symbol 13 shows the printerwith a person in front of it, to indicate that the machine is in thecommand-controlled mode and hence either occupied with a copy job or aninteractive print job or is in the above-described first or secondwaiting period, in which no automatic print jobs can start. Symbol 14 isan illustration of the printer with, superimposed thereon, a noticeboard indicating that this printer is in a malfunction state. Symbol 15is an undetailed illustration of the printer to indicate that thisprinter is connected but at the present time is not available for copyjobs or print jobs.

From these symbols a user can determine which printer he should send hisprint job to, and also, when he wishes to carry out a copying orinteractive print job, whether the chosen machine is free. Particularlyconvenient is the differentiated indication of the occupied state, i.e.occupation in the autonomous mode and occupation in thecommand-controlled mode, because an automatic print job can withoutdifficulty be stopped during operation by a user at the machine, inorder to carry out a copy job or interactive print job in an “interrupt”mode, but passing another user at the machine will always require moreconvincing reasons.

The user can select one of the symbols, and hence one of the printers,and then call up one of the following functions either with a menu inthe top bar of the window or with a popup menu or the right-hand mousebutton:

-   -   Displaying the waiting print jobs for the printer concerned; in        this function automatic and interactive print jobs are displayed        separately and they can also be manipulated. This function forms        part of the “Job Control” program module and will be described        in detail there. This function can also be called up with a        double mouse click on the printer symbol.    -   Displaying the properties and status of the printer concerned.    -   Calling up a monitor function which during the work gives        information on the display screen concerning the status of the        printer concerned.    -   Defining the printer concerned as the default printer.

In the above-mentioned function in which the properties and status ofthe printer are displayed, a window with this information appears on thescreen, the information being distributed over three tab cards which canbe made visible by selection of their tab, as shown in FIGS. 4A, B andC. The stock of printing paper in the printer trays is displayed on afirst tab card, the current state of operation of the printer isdescribed on the second tab card and information as to the installedfunctionality is shown on the third tab card.

In response to selection of the above-mentioned monitor function, theworkstation screen shows a window in which the user can set hispreferences for the form of presentation of the printer status data (seeFIG. 5). There are two main forms of presentation, namely with apermanent icon on the screen (“by icon”) and with messages which appearon the screen at the time that a change of printer status occurs (“byalerts”).

When monitoring with icons is set, the icon displays a symbolicillustration of the status just as shown in FIG. 3. An example of suchan icon is given in FIG. 6A. A user can also simultaneously have thestatus of different printers maintained. In that case, the screen showsan icon for each monitored printer as shown in FIG. 6B. By a doubleclick of the mouse on an icon the function of displaying the waitingprint jobs for the printer concerned is called up. In this connection wewould again refer to the description of the “Job Control” programmodule.

When monitoring is by means of messages, the user can indicate thechanges of state for which he wants to receive a message, in order thusto avoid unnecessary reports. An example of a message of this kind isdisplayed in FIG. 7.

FIG. 8 shows the relevant layout of the workstation screen after theuser has selected the “Job Control” option in the desktop software tomaintain an overview of current print jobs.

Here a number of windows 20A, B and C are displayed, each applicable toa printer at which a print job of the user is present at that time. Thusthere are as many windows displayed as there are printers at which theuser's print jobs are present at that time. If this function was calledup from the “Device Overview” module, then only the window for theprinter selected there would be displayed.

A window 20 contains a space 21 for automatic print jobs, a space 22 forinteractive print jobs of the user, and a space 23 for specifying theactive print job. There are also a number of “keys” which can beoperated via the mouse.

Space 21 contains the queue of automatic print jobs of the user, withtheir status (number in the queue), name, and other data to be selectedby the user during set-up. By clicking on a switchbox on the leftbeneath the space 21 the user can also have displayed all the waitingautomatic print jobs, i.e. including those of other users. In that casehis own jobs are reproduced in a manner which is distinguishable fromthe others, for example in colour. If the Job Control module is calledup from the “Devices Overview” module, for a specific printer, thepresentation of all the waiting automatic print jobs, i.e. includingthose of other users, is the default setting.

Space 22 contains an overview of waiting interactive print jobs of theuser, here reproduced with icons with a name, which corresponds to thecharacter of the jobs, which are not in a queue but do not becomeoperative until the user starts them on the operator control panel. Toobtain more information concerning these jobs, the user can also havethem presented in a detailed list.

Space 23 displays the data of the print job which is active at thattime, or, if there is no job active, the state of the printer (“idle”,“error”). The space contains the following data: type of job (copyingjob, automatic print job, interactive print job), number of prints, nameof the owner of the job, and the name of the job. Next to the space 23is a key 24, by means of which the active job can be discontinued(“abort”).

By means of the key 25, an interactive print job selected in the space22 can be converted to an automatic print job and be added to the queuein space 21, while the key 26 can convert an automatic print jobselected in space 21 into an interactive job and move it to space 22.

By means of key 27, the print settings can be displayed for a print jobselected in either of the spaces 21 or 22. The same effect is achievedby double clicking of the mouse on the job name. In response to this, awindow is opened on the screen of the workstation, displaying all thesettings. The settings can also be changed in this window.

Finally, a print job selected in either of the spaces 21 or 22 can beremoved by means of key 28.

The above functions can also be called up by selecting a job andchoosing from the “document” menu in the menu bar above the window 20 orby selecting in a pop-menu which appears when the right-hand mousebutton is clicked on a job name.

The functions explained with reference to the keys 24-28 can be used bythe user only for his own print jobs.

The “View” menu in the menu bar above the window 20 offers the followingoptions:

-   -   Selection of the form of presentation of automatic print jobs        (choice of which information is displayed)    -   Selection of the form of presentation of interactive print jobs        (as icons or in a list and, if a list is chosen, what        information is displayed)    -   Display of all print jobs of the user (over all the printers),        with the printer on which the job is present, plus this        information concerning the print jobs that have already been        finished.

This latter function will now be explained with reference to FIG. 9.

When this function is selected, the screen at the workstation displaysthe window 30. This window 30 contains a space 31 in which there isdisplayed a list of all the print jobs which have not yet been finishedfor the user concerned, on all the printers, with their status (waiting,busy, error) and the printer at which they are present. This list showsboth automatic and interactive print jobs and their type. Doubleclicking of the mouse on the name of a print job in space 31 opens theJob Control window (FIG. 8) of the printer where the job is present, sothat the user can see the status of the job in the queue (if it is anautomatic print job), can manipulate the job, and can inspect and/orchange the print settings.

The window 30 also contains a space 32 displaying a list of all thefinished print jobs of the user concerned, on all the printers, with theprinter which processed them. A key 33 is provided beneath the space 32to enable the user to remove from the list a print job after he hasselected this by clicking with the mouse.

If a list is too long in space 31 or 32 to fit in that space, a scrollbar appears so that the jobs not fitting in the window can still bereached.

The list of finished print jobs in space 32 can also give a statusindication although this is not shown here. In the case of a printerwith more than one delivery tray, the printer machine control systemknows the delivery tray in which the prints have been deposited and thisinformation can be displayed in the list. The printer can also beprovided with sensors to determine whether there are prints in thedelivery trays. In that case, the machine control system can also notethat a delivered stack of prints is taken from the tray. Thisinformation can also be displayed in the list in space 32. The statusinformation can have the form of: “present in delivery tray X”, or“removed”.

By means of this function a user can always find out where his printjobs are in the queue or where his prints are situated, this beingextremely convenient particularly in an environment in which a number ofprinters are used.

The monitor function can also operate for just a specified sub-set ofall the printers in the system. This can be set when the system isconfigured, or by means of a set-up function of the program.

The “monitor” menu in the menu bar above the Job Control window 20offers the opportunity of activating a monitor function for the printjobs of the user concerned on the printer concerned. This function canalso be called up from the start menu of the desktop software and willbe described hereinafter.

The monitor function is intended to keep the user informed as to thestatus of his automatic print jobs. It can be operative for all thecurrent jobs or for some of the jobs, as selected by the user.

The monitor function has three modes:

-   -   A first mode (“active”): there is still at least one job of the        set which has not been completed; also included is the number of        jobs that have not yet been finished.    -   A second mode (“passive”): all the jobs of the set have been        finished or the set is empty.    -   A third mode (“error”): one of the jobs has caused an error.

In response to the selection of the monitor function in the start menuof the desktop software, the workstation display screen displays awindow in which the user can select one, more, or all the printers forthe monitor function. This is shown in FIG. 10. After the user hasclicked the “OK” key with the mouse, the workstation display screendisplays a window in which the user can set his preferences for the formof presentation of the status of his personal print jobs (see FIG. 11).There are two main forms of the presentation, namely by using apermanent icon on the screen (“by icon”) or by using messages whichappear on the screen when there is any change in that status (“byalerts”). In the latter case the user can indicate the changes of statusfor which he wants to receive a message in order thus to avoidunnecessary reports.

The user inputs his preferences and presses the “OK” key, whereafter thefunction is activated. An icon now appears on the screen if the iconmode was selected.

When Job Monitoring is activated from Job Control, the selection windowof FIG. 10 is skipped (the printer of the Job Control window isautomatically selected), but the window of FIG. 11 is immediatelydisplayed.

FIG. 12 shows monitor icons. In addition to the name of the printer forwhich it is active, an icon contains a symbol showing the status of aset of print jobs of the user on that printer. In this example, thefollowing symbols are displayed for the above-mentioned three states:

-   For the first state (“active”): an illustration of a document with a    pen;-   For the second state (“passive”): an illustration of a document;-   For the third state (“error”): a notice board in front of a    document.

The set of print jobs monitored by the monitor function can be thecomplete set of jobs on the printer concerned, but it can alternativelybe a sub-set. This sub-set can only be selected in the Job Controlwindow 20, space 21, by clicking the required print jobs with the mouse,followed by clicking the monitor menu in the menu bar. When JobMonitoring is called up from the start menu of the desktop software, theset always contains all the jobs. The monitor function is dynamic: printjobs can be added to a monitored set.

In response to a double click of the mouse on a monitoring icon, the JobControl window of the printer concerned is opened, so that the user caninspect the complete status of his jobs.

A plurality of icons can also be displayed simultaneously on the screen,so that the user can inspect the status of different sets or printerssimultaneously.

If the “by alerts” mode is selected, message windows appear only ifthere is a user-selected change of status of a print job from the set.An example of such a window is shown in FIG. 13.

The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same maybe varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded asdeparture from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all suchmodifications as would as would be obvious to one skilled in the art areintended to be included within the scope of the following claims.

1. An information processing system, comprising: at least one workstation provided with a processor unit, a screen, and an operator control device, at least one printer, provided with a control unit and an operator control panel, and a digital network to which the at least one workstations and the at least one printers are connected, wherein a workstation is provided with a program personalized for a specific user for communication with a printer for sending print jobs to said printer and calling up or receiving status information from said printer, said program including means for collecting information concerning the status of print jobs of the user from at least one printer, means for maintaining an actualized overview of the print jobs of the user, means for determining and updating a single collective status of a predetermined set of print jobs of the user on the basis of said actualized overview, and means for displaying on the workstation screen a display element indicating said collective status.
 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein said program identifies a current collective status of a set of print jobs as a first state, if at least one print job of the set has not yet been carried out.
 3. The system according to claim 1, wherein said program identifies a current collective status of a set of print jobs as a second state when all the print jobs of the set have been carried out.
 4. The system according to claim 3, wherein said program also identifies the current collective status of a set of print jobs as the second state if the set in question is empty.
 5. The system according to claim 1, wherein said program identifies a current collective status of a set of print jobs as a third state if an error occurs in carrying out a print job of the set.
 6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the set includes all the print jobs of a user.
 7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the set contains all the print jobs of a user which have been sent to a specific printer.
 8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the set is formed by a selection from all the print jobs of a user.
 9. The system according to claim 8, wherein the selection is restricted to a selection from the print jobs of a user which have been sent to a specific printer.
 10. The system according to claim 1, wherein the set of print jobs whose current collective status is presented by said program is expanded dynamically when a new print job is added thereto and sent to a printer.
 11. The system according to claim 6, wherein the set of print jobs whose current collective status is presented by said program is expanded dynamically when a new print job is added thereto and sent to a printer.
 12. The system according to claim 7, wherein the set of print jobs whose current collective status is presented by said program is expanded dynamically when a new print job is added thereto and sent to a printer.
 13. The system according to claim 8, wherein the set of print jobs whose current collective status is presented by said program is expanded dynamically when a new print job is added thereto and sent to a printer.
 14. The system according to claim 9, wherein the set of print jobs whose current collective status is presented by said program is expanded dynamically when a new print job is added thereto and sent to a printer.
 15. The system according to claim 2, wherein in the event that the collective status of a set of print jobs is presented as being of the first state, the number of prints jobs not yet carried out is also presented on the workstation screen.
 16. The system according to claim 1, wherein the display element indicating said collective status is a single icon.
 17. The system according to claim 1, wherein the means for determining and updating consolidates print job status information of all print jobs from the predetermined set of print jobs of the user on the basis of said actualized overview, and keeps said collective status updated.
 18. A method of processing information in a system, wherein the system includes at least one workstation provided with a screen, at least one printer, and a digital network to which the at least one workstations and the at least one printers are connected, wherein a workstation is provided with a program personalized for a specific user for communication with a printer for sending print jobs to said printer and calling up or receiving status information from said printer, the method comprising the steps of: collecting information concerning the status of print jobs of the user from at least one printer; maintaining an actualized overview of the print jobs of the user; determining and updating a single collective status of a predetermined set of print jobs of the user on the basis of said actualized overview; and displaying on the workstation screen a display element indicating said collective status.
 19. The method according to claim 18, wherein said determining step includes the step of: identifying a current collective status of a set of print jobs as a first state, if at least one print job of the set has not yet been carried out.
 20. The method according to claim 18, wherein said determining step includes the step of: identifying a current collective status of a set of print jobs as a second state when all the print jobs of the set have been carried out.
 21. The method according to claim 18, wherein said determining step includes the step of: identifying a current collective status of a set of print jobs as a third state, if an error occurs in carrying out a print job of the set.
 22. The method according to claim 18, wherein the set is formed by a selection from all the print jobs of a user.
 23. The method according to claim 18, wherein the set of print jobs whose current collective status is presented is expanded dynamically when a new print job is added thereto and sent to a printer.
 24. The method according to claim 19, wherein the displaying step also presents on the workstation screen the number of prints jobs not yet carried out, in the event that the collective status of a set of print jobs is presented as being of the first state.
 25. The method according to claim 18, wherein in the displaying step, the display element indicating said collective status is a single icon.
 26. The method according to claim 18, wherein the determining and updating step includes: consolidating print job status information of all print jobs from the predetermined set of print jobs of the user on the basis of said actualized overview, and keeping said collective status updated.
 27. A computer program product embodied on at least one computer readable medium accessible by a system for processing information, the system including at least one workstation provided with a screen, at least one printer, and a digital network to which the at least one workstations and the at least one printer are connected, wherein a workstation is provided with a program personalized for a specific user for communication with a printer for sending print jobs to said printer and calling up or receiving status information from said printer, the computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions for: collecting information concerning the status of print jobs of the user from at least one printer; maintaining an actualized overview of the print jobs of the user; determining and updating a single collective status of a predetermined set of print jobs of the user on the basis of said actualized overview; and displaying on the workstation screen a display element indicating said collective status.
 28. The computer program product according to claim 27, wherein said computer-executable instructions for determining include computer-executable instructions for: identifying a current collective status of a set of print jobs as a third state, if an error occurs in carrying out a print job of the set.
 29. The computer program product according to claim 27, wherein the display element indicating said collective status is a single icon.
 30. The computer program product according to claim 27, wherein the computer-executable instructions for determining and updating include computer-executable instructions for: consolidating print job status information of all print jobs from the predetermined set of print jobs of the user on the basis of said actualized overview, and keeping said collective status updated. 